Did you know that you could make avocado dye at home out of your guacamole scraps?
Avocados have a special tannin, an acid present in plants, that turns fabric to beautiful a beautiful pale pink or peach color. This tannin acts as a mordant, or fixative, that helps the dye to stick to the fabric fibers. Learn how to extract tannin from the pit and skin of avocados to make your own fabric dye!
Materials you will need:
- Skins and pits of two avocados
- A large stainless steel pot
- Heat safe container (bowl, basin, pot)
- A strainer or sieve
- A clean white t-shirt (you could also use a bandana, scarf, tank top, whatever you like – just make sure it’s a natural fabric for best results)
- Optional: gloves for handling dyed fabric (you can also just wash your hands afterwards!)
Directions:
- Rinse the avocado off your pits & stones. You don’t need to be too thorough with this - the strainer will take care of any avocado pieces that are left behind.
- Heat water on low heat in your stainless steel pot, enough for your pits & skins to float in. Just heat – don't boil! Be very careful as boiling will turn your dye brown.
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